1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tension headache reliever, and more particularly to a tension headache reliever that does not require the use of pharmaceuticals.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Headaches are attributable to many factors. Tension, stress, concerns about business or family problems, all cause headaches. Eye strain, sinuses, colds and flu can also cause headaches as well as overexposure to the sun, excessive consumption of alcohol, loud noises and high air or water pressure. Headaches can occur for several hours or last for many days, e.g. migraine headaches.
Presently, there are various pharmaceutical headache and pain relievers available to the public that have met with varying degrees of success in curing headaches. However, the pharmaceutical products are deficient for a number of reasons. Many of the pharmaceutical products are not effective in relieving certain types of headaches. They do not relieve the same type of headaches in different people. People often build up an immunity to these pharmaceutical products rendering them ineffective. Other people are allergic to these pharmaceutical products or cannot or do not want to ingest the chemicals in these pharmaceutical products. Also, the pharmaceutical products are aimed at curing generalized pain only, and cannot cure particular areas of pain.
Alternative methods have been developed to relieve headaches without the use of pharmaceutical products. One of these methods includes electric stimulation, i.e., applying pulses of electric energy at low current levels to the parts of the body that emanate pain.
Most electric stimulators have carbon rubber electrodes which are reusable and can be fixed to the skin with adhesive tape and are adaptable to the contour of the body region to be stimulated. The prior art recommends placement of electrodes over the occipital nerves with an intensity of stimulation high enough to produce paresthesia from occiput to vertex. If this is not successful, electrodes are placed over the forehead or temples.
To apply an electric stimulus the prior art teaches the use of TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) devices. TENS devices deliver electric bursts through the skin to cutaneous (surface) and afferent (deep) nerves to control pain. The use of a TENS device is an advancement in the art because of how it operates; it is able to stimulate a specific nerve to ease a specific point of pain.
There are two major theories explaining how electric stimulation relieves pain. According to the "gate control theory," pain and non-pain impulses are sent to the brain from the local nervous system. These pulses travel through the cutaneous nerves to the deeper afferent nerves and then to the spinal cord and brain. Along the path are many areas referred to as "gates." The gates control which impulses are allowed to continue to the brain. These gates prevent the brain from receiving too much information too quickly. Since the same nerve cannot carry a pain impulse and a non-pain impulse simultaneously, the stronger, non-pain impulse (from the TENS device) "controls the gate."
According to the second theory, TENS stimulation encourages the body to produce natural pain killers called endorphins. These chemicals interact with receptors, blocking the perception of pain, much as the pharmaceutical drug morphine does, but without the side effects associated with morphine.
Most TENS units can vary stimulus intensity, pulse rate, and pulse width. TENS devices can be powered by a single 9-volt battery. Modern TENS devices offer a dual or multichannel system for use with four or more electrodes. These units permit the simultaneous treatment of many points within a painful area which is particularly useful if that area is wide or the pain is radiating. These units also provide a variety of possible electrode arrangements which may be useful in treating certain pain.
The prior art also teaches devices utilizing, in addition to electric stimulus, acupressure, massage and vibration therapies to relieve pain. Acupressure involves applying physical pressure against specific parts of the body to achieve some degree of treatment or pain relief. However, these devices are complicated to operate and require an attending therapist during treatment. Further, none of the prior art devices combine the salient features of each of these approaches to relieve pain, nor do they enable such approaches to be administered simultaneously.